A.K. Burns
Biography
Born in 1975 in Capitola (USA). Lives and works in Brooklyn (USA).
A.K. Burns' interdisciplinary practice explores the body as a contentious domain where social, political, and material forces collide. Engaging deeply with questions of materiality and (re)production, Burns examines how the «deployment of power» is connected to the body, its functions, physiological processes, sensations, and pleasures.
For Burns, the body is not an object with inherent boundaries and properties but multifaceted and porous, permeating and penetrated by its surroundings. These inquiries take shape as visually seductive and socially critical videos, sculptures, writing, sound, drawings, and collages.
A.K. Burns' work has been exhibited at Palais de Tokyo (Paris) ; Julia Stoschek Collection (Düsseldorf/Berlin) ; New Museum (New York) ; Tate Modern (London) ; MOMA - Museum of Modern Art (New York) ; Sculpture Center (New York) ; The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) ; MET - The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) ; MMK - Museum für Moderne Kunst (Frankfurt am Main) ; SOMArts (San Francisco) ; ICA - Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia) ; Leslie-Lhman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (New York) ; KADIST (San Francisco) ; Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge) ; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art ; Human Resources (Los Angeles) ; The LGBT Community Center (New York).
Burns received in 2021 the Guggenheim Fellow in Fine Arts and Art Awards Purchase Program from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, in 2018 the New York Foundation for the Arts - NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship, in 2016-17 the Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and a recipient of a 2015 Creative Capital Foundation Visual Arts Award.
Her work is part of prestigious collections as Guggenheim Museum (New York) ; American Academy of Arts and Letters (New York) ; Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) ; LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Kadist Foundation (San Francisco) ; MoMA (New York) ; FRAC - Pays De La Loire (Carquefou), Frac Île-de-France, Le Plateau (Paris).
Selected works
A.K. Burns
Split Tongues (no.2) , 2023
rouched industrial black tarp, zipper
250 x 90 x 20 cm (98.43 x 35.43 x 7.87 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN23144
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A.K. Burns
Night Shift , 2022
concrete, steel rebar and steel remesh, nylon cord, titanium lure leader, speed bag, and powder coating
205 x 106 x 70 cm (80.71 x 41.73 x 27.56 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN23142
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A.K. Burns
On hands and buckets , 2022
powder-coated steel rebar, concrete, Plasti Dip, electrical insulation sleeve, rubber gloves, urethane resin, fiberglass, used bucket, rag
103 x 117 x 40 cm (40.55 x 46.06 x 15.75 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN23140
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A.K. Burns
Broken Window Theory , 2021
glass, silver nitrate, rock
50,17 x 40 x 6,15 cm (19.69 x 15.75 x 2.36 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN21123
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A.K. Burns
Anger Management , 2021
glass, silver nitrate, sand, copper mesh
50,01 x 40 x 3,81 cm (19.69 x 15.75 x 1.18 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN21122
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A.K. Burns
Query , 2021
glass, silver nitrate, sand
50.17 x 40 x 5.08 cm (19.75 x 15.75 x 2 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN21120
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A.K. Burns
Marianne deludes the world , 2020
aquaresin-concrete mix (hand), newspaper (torch), steel rebar (arm), charcoal log (arm), cast concrete bag (sleeve)
214 x 105 x 30 cm (84.25 x 41.34 x 11.81 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN20104
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A.K. Burns
Left leaning , 2020
powder-coated aluminium, K-way painted, rope
187 x 55,5 x 20 cm (73.62 x 21.65 x 7.87 in)
unique artwork
Collection: FRAC Pays-de-la-Loire, France
N° Inv. BURN20099
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A.K. Burns
MIRROR COLLAGE (Leave No Trace series) , 2019
7 elements: mixed media on mirror
43,2 x 35,6 cm (17 x 14 in.) each
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN20113
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A.K. Burns
Pitch black dry sack , 2019
aquaresin-concrete mix (hand), cast epoxy (jug), steel rebar (arm), charcoal log (arm)
112 x 121 x 80 cm (44.09 x 47.64 x 31.5 in)
unique artwork
Collection: FRAC Île-de-France, France
N° Inv. BURN20105
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A.K. Burns
Still leak , 2019
glass, cast plastic
1 element : 9.8 x 11 x 13.7 in. / 2 elements : 9.4 x5.5 x 5.5 in.
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN20101
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A.K. Burns
Broke not broken , 2019
powder coated aluminum
71 x 107 x 68,6 cm (27.95 x 42.13 x 26.77 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN20093
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A.K. Burns
Leave No Trace (Negative Space 000) , 2019
five-channel HD video installation with plastic skull, rubber tires, color, sound
31'8''
Edition of 3 + 1 EA
N° Inv. BURN19087
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A.K. Burns
The Dispossessed (Fence 1) , 2018
steel, aluminum and chromaflair paint
221 x 213 x 130 cm (87.01 x 83.86 x 51.18 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN21117
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A.K. Burns
The Dispossessed (Fence 2) , 2018
steel, aluminum and chromaflair paint
183 x 175 x 213 cm (72.05 x 68.9 x 83.86 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN21116
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A.K. Burns
A Smeary Spot (Negative Space 0) , 2015
4-channel video installation, videos 1-3, HD color, 6-channel sound, TRT 53:13 minute synchronized loop video 4, SD b/w, silent, TRT 4:00 minute loop
Edition of 3 + 1 EA
N° Inv. BURN17046
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A.K. Burns
before the wake , 2014
Spirulina, polyurethane, torn catalog pages containing photos of Glen Canyon, Utah taken by Tad Nichols before it was dammed in 1956
22.9 x 26.7 cm (9.02 x 10.51 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN17010
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A.K. Burns
before the wake (21) , 2014
spirulina, polyurethane, torn catalog pages containing photos of Glen Canyon, Utah taken by Tad Nichols before it was dammed in 1956
2 prints : 22,9 x 26,7 cm each / two prints 9 x 10.5 in each
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN17008
Send an inquire
A.K. Burns
Discard (T-shirt) , 2014
cast aluminium
39,4 x 50,8 cm (15.35 x 19.69 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN17007
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A.K. Burns
Unstable Table , 2014
penny, archivial ink jet image tranfers on vinyl coated canvas
48 x 28 x 7 cm (18.9 x 11.02 x 2.76 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN17003
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A.K. Burns
The Orchid Show , 2013
HD video, color, sound
13' 34''
Edition of 3
N° Inv. BURN17019
Send an inquire
A.K. Burns
Figuratively , 2012
penny, archivial ink jet image tranfers on vinyl coated canvas
48 x 28 x 2 cm (18.9 x 11.02 x 0.79 in)
unique artwork
N° Inv. BURN17002
Send an inquire
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Gallery exhibitions
Museum exhibitions
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Musée Transitoire, Paris, France
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA
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A.K. Burns: What is Perverse is Liquid, cur. Nina Bozicnik, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA, 2025
A.K. Burns: What is Perverse is Liquid, cur. Nina Bozicnik, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA, 2025
A.K. Burns: What is Perverse is Liquid, cur. Nina Bozicnik, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA, 2025
A.K. Burns: What is Perverse is Liquid, cur. Nina Bozicnik, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA, 2025
Humain Autonome : Déroutes, cur. Nicolas Surlapierre, Marianne Derrien, Sarah Ihler-Meyer et Salim Santa Lucia, Frank Lamy, MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, 2024
Le droit à l'oubli A.K. Burns, Musée Transitoire, Paris, France, 2023
Of Space We Are, (cur. Kelly Kivland), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA, 2023
Of Space We Are, (cur. Kelly Kivland), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA, 2023
Of Space We Are, (cur. Kelly Kivland), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA, 2023
Of Space We Are, (cur. Kelly Kivland), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (OH), USA, 2023
Light and Language, Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland, 2021
Light and Language, Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Ireland, 2021
Anticorps, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2020, ph. Aurélien Mole
Anticorps, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2020, ph. Aurélien Mole
Anticorps, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2020, ph. Aurélien Mole
Anticorps, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2020, ph. Aurélien Mole
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
A.K. Burns : Negative Space, JSC - Julia Stoschek collection, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2019
The Dispossessed, FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, , USA, 2018
Survivor's Remorse, Harvard Art Museums - Lightbox Gallery, Cambridge, USA, 2018
Survivor's Remorse, Harvard Art Museums - Lightbox Gallery, Cambridge, USA, 2018
A.K. Burns: Shabby But Thriving, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
A.K. Burns: Shabby But Thriving, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
A.K. Burns: The Resource Center, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
The Resource Center, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
The Resource Center, New Museum, New York, USA, 2017
A.K. Burns: Fault Lines, Callicoon Fine Arts, New York, USA, 2017
A.K. Burns: Fault Lines, Callicoon Fine Arts, New York, USA, 2017
Leave No Trace, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art's, Portland, USA, 2016
The Public Body at Artspace, installation view of Community Action Center, Sydney, Australia, 2016
A Smeary Spot, Participant Inc., New York, USA, 2015
A Smeary Spot, Participant Inc., New York, USA, 2015
Fear of Commitment, N/A Gallery, Oakland, Canada, 2014
Ending with a Fugue, Callicoon Fine Arts, New York, USA, 2013
Community Action Center in collaboration with A.L. Steiner, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, USA and Horton Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2010
Community Action Center in collaboration with A.L. Steiner, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, USA and Horton Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2010
Videos
CONVERSATION
Conversation with artist A.K. Burns and Elisabeth Lebovici, Michel Rein, Paris, 2023
TALK
"Negative Space" a presentation by A.K Burns at Radcliff Institute, Harvard
CONVERSATION
Conversation between Kevin Moore, artist A.K. Burns and Musician Ankit Shrestha
Press
TeebTix
What Is ‘What is Perverse Is Liquid': The Different Installations of A.K. Burns
2024
E-flux
Fall/Winter exhibitions
2024
MoMA
Exploring Community Action Center
2024
Artdaily.com
The Henry Art Gallery announces an exhibition of work by interdisciplinary artist A.K. Burns
2024
Art Critique
Le Musée Transitoire réapparaît à Paris
2024
EverOut
A.K.Burns
2023
crash
A.K. Burns : Sunset at Scum Pond
2023
The Art Newspaper
A.K. Burns : Sunset at Scum Pond
2023
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Publications
Ridykeulous presents : Ridykes Cavern of Fine Inverted Wines and Deciant Videos
Publisher: Nicole Yip, Nottingham Contemporary
2023
Negative Space
Publisher: Karen Kelly and Barbara Schroeder
2023
Zero - A.K. Burns on Nancy Holt
Publisher: Callicoon Fine Arts, New York
2019
